XJ1100 Electrical Problems

[mx4god]

I'm sure there are threads on this already, but I searched and couldn't find what I was looking for, and didn't really want to spend hours trying to find it. Anyway, my '82 maxim battery light occasionally comes on. It's usually after start up and accelerating the first time for about 10-20 seconds, then it doesn't come on again until I start it up the next time. Also, the turn signals stopped working as well. It seems like the parking lights on them work, but they don't flash when you hit the button. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Jerry]

Probably 2 separate issues.

Battery light: The XJ used a sensor in the battery to tell you when the fluid level got low. If you still have this type of battery, check the fluid levels or clean the sensor. If you don't have a sensor battery, check the Tech Tip
http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-t...liminator.html about a way to bypass the sensor and keep the light from coming on.

Turn lights now flashing is generally caused by a bad ground connection, and is a very common problem in any old bike. The XJ uses 2 grounds. The first is inside the flasher stalk, where a small screw holds down a small strap that contacts the ground on the bulb. Remove this screw and clean the contact areas. The other is on the rear turn signal stalk. The nut that holds the stalk in place (inside the fender) also covers a ground wire, which, in theory, provides the ground for the rear stalk. Remove the nut, clean the contact areas (in addition to the small strap inside the stalk) and reassemble. I spray some "battery protector" stuff over and around the nut after reassembly to help extend the time until it has to be cleaned again.

Corroded ground wires can cause other gremlins. You should also clean the connection where the battery ground wire connects to the frame. Inspect your battery cables, and if you see any corrosion build-up between the individual wires, consider replacing the cables.

With clean grounds the turn lights should flash.

[mx4god]

Well I filled the battery since it was at the low bar, so that should fix it. I cleaned the left front signal one because it had some corrosion. But now the bike won't even start because it appears to have no spark...

[mx4god]

Woohoo! Everything's back to normal... After some research on here, I found out there's a couple reasons why an xj1100 doesn't start from the factory; kick-stand and clutch lever. It wasn't getting spark earlier today, and so I tried with them up/in. Bingo! Fired up right away. I'm not really surprised that was the problem. But what I am surprised at is that it wasn't a problem when starting the bike before this...

So, even though it's already cold here, I took it out for a test ride since I had to get a bite to eat with my bro. After cleaning the left front signal ground, I believe, I tried it and it still wouldn't work. But when I was riding it started working again! The battery light doesn't come on either. Thanks for the help Jerry!!

[PapaBear]

no spark probs

Jerry, the XJ guru... help me Obi Wan Kawalski, you're my only hope. I have an 82 Maxim 1100 I just bought for a song 'cause it has no spark. I haven't looked at the kickstand or tip switches yet, but I did find some unconnected wires and wondered if you could give me some guidance about what they are.
I took pictures to show but can't figure out how to put them into this question.
-there are 3 blue wires with a yellow stripe together in one connector, one of them is cut off right above the connector.
-there is a turquoise and turquoise with a white stripe in the headlight bucket that have a connector but aren't attached to anything.
-there is a white wire that plugs into an aqua one, with some kind of red insulated rod that goes nowhere, (is there a battery test thing on these?)
if I eliminate a switch to test for spark, do I just jumper over the terminals, or may the switch be normally closed?
Thanks

[Jerry]

Oh my. Not starting on an XJ is a bit different because of the kick stand switch and the clutch lever switch. The kick stand switch is a known problem, and Yamaha no longer sells it as s replacement part. Your options for this are to either bypass the switch, letting the bike think the stand is always up, or cut the switch apart and fix it. Both approaches have been done and work.

I opted to bypass the switch. If you follow the wires up, they come to a 3-way connection just behind the fuel tank. Unplug the switch at this connection. On the bike side, all 3 wires have t be connected to each other. I made up a "Y" connector using some speaker wire and 1/4 inch spade connectors, and slipped each spade over a wire on the bike side. This bypasses the side stand switch and will let the XJ start.

if you want to maintain the side stand switch, the trick is to cut off the top of the switch by cutting around the switch, not through it. Remove the guts, clean all the contacts, and epoxy the switch back together.

Clutch switch does not normally go bad, but if it does, the replacement was still available from Yamaha the last time I checked, but that was a couple years ago. As with the side stand switch, the clutch switch can be bypassed. Follow the wire from the lever into the wiring harness, disconnect it, and put a jumper across the bike-side wiring.

The XJ wiring is more complicated than the XS in part because of these 2 additional circuits, but they are common on bikes newer than the XJ. The side stand switch keeps you from riding off with the side stand down, and the clutch lever switch from starting the bike in gear with the clutch engaged. If you bypass these interconnects, please be careful!

[Cobia]

The clutch switch on my XJ was bad when I bought it so I just eliminated it by cutting it off and twisting the wires together. Stored them behind the handlebar upright trim plate.
You just have to know what the 'operational' status is for them (open or closed) and compensate accordingly.
I also had other electrical gremlins that manifested themselves as mechanical problems. Most if not all disappeared when I replaced the fuse block for a blade type from TC.